Motel. Pool.

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In the mid-1950s, Jack Dayton flees his working-class prospects in Omaha and heads to Hollywood, convinced he’ll be the next James Dean. But sleazy casting couches don't earn him stardom, and despair leads to a series of poor decisions that ultimately find him at a cheap motel off Route 66, lifeless at the bottom of the pool.

Sixty years later, Tag Manning, feeling hopeless and empty, flees his most recent relationship mistake and takes to the open road. On a roundabout route to Las Vegas, he pulls over to rest at an isolated spot on Route 66. There’s no longer a motel or pool, but when Tag resumes his journey to Vegas, he finds he’s transporting a hitchhiking ghost. Jack and Tag come to find much-needed friends in each other, but one man is a phantom and the other is strangely cursed. Time is running out for each of them, and they must face the fact that a future together may not only be a gamble... it may not be in the cards.

Motel. Pool.

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\"The worst of it wasnt that Sam had promised him a chancepeople broke promises all the time. And it wasnt even how Jack had earned itif he focused on how hed paid Sam, hed feel cheap and dirty and used. No, the worst of it was that without his shot at stardom, he was nobody. Nothing but a meatpackers son from Nebraska. Not special or desirable. Just empty.\"
1956. Jack came to LA a year ago to make it big. He found Sam, a director with two Oscar nominations under his belt, and a liking for young boys. It takes a little over a year before Jack realizes that Sam is never going to help him be a star. Heading home to Nebraska, Jack's car breaks down, and he ends up at the Jasper Motel in Arizona. And he never leaves. At least not alive, anyway.
2014. Tag is heading through Arizona. Feeling nothing. At all. Empty. He's not sure why, or what's wrong with him, but it isn't the first time he has felt this way. Hell, looking at the Grand Canyon does nothing for him. Zilch. Zero. Then Jacks ghost appears, having hitched a ride, and both of their lives are changed.
Why are you haunting me? Are you looking to avenge your death?
I told you. Nothing to avenge. The people I knew when I was alive, theyre probably all dead now too. I stopped being angry at them decades ago. What happened to meits my own damn fault.
Then what do you want?
Jack rubbed his eyes. I wantI wanted to get out of Jasper. I wanted a little company. I wanted to be reminded what it was like to be alive.
In a world where Tag has always felt like a screw-up, and one step outside reality, his best friend, his only real friend, turns out to be a ghost who died almost sixty years before. They're both lost, lonely souls, who didn't know they needed each other, until they did. Remarkably, Tag and Jack fall in love, because, as fate would have it, they're perfect for each other. Except for the small issue of one not being alive.
'Motel. Pool.' by Kim Fielding goes so far beyond being just a ghost story, I'm not sure I can adequately express it. I wanted to read this book because I'd heard so many great things about it, and I'm a fan of the author. Never in a million years did I believe that there'd be a happy ending for Jack and Tag. But in an odd, roundabout, and completely believable manner, the author gave the guys one. Thank you, Kim, for a beautiful story that I will cherish.
NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.

Review of Motel. Pool.

By Sabrina Elsnik on May 22, 2014 05:05

Lovely, lovely, lovely! This heartbreaking love story that will get your heart beating faster. And - Oh boy, did I cry. I found the beginning quite heartbreaking - poor sweet Jacky - my heart ached so for his life-story. Poor thing. I found Motel.Pool. very engaging and a little surprising at times. I really like Kim Fielding's storytelling and all in all I think it's a very enjoyable love story between a depressed young man who ran away from a marriage proposal and a very sad and lonely \"young\" ghost. ♥ Highly recommended :)

Review of Motel. Pool.

By Michael Murphy on May 20, 2014 09:05

Absolutely first rate book. This was one of those rare books that I could not put down. I had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. When I read a book I usually know where the story is going, but with this one I didn't have a clue. The author has given us an incredible story, beautifully written, with two of the most wonderful central characters I can recall. I wanted to cuddle with both of the main characters. I read a lot of books. This one goes onto that special shelf of books I want to read again. My compliments to the author (and I do not give praise easily or often).